. only on 9, you've heard all of the talk about just how well dc schools are doing. but is it all just hype? we investigate. topper is tracking a change in the weather bringing rain and some cold. how long is it going to last? plus he is our hero, he was my big brother. >> one-on-one with the sister of the murdered principal. this is 9news now. dc chancellor michelle rhee and her school system are celebrating some of the most improved test scores in the nation. the national assessment of education process were held up as vindication of her reform. >> but a local teacher says he has broken down the test scores. the teacher claims what is really growing is dc's achievement gap. >> when we first got them, they didn't have any feathers at all. >> animals are everywhere inside christopher's classroom where the science teacher is using

hands on examples to demonstrate metamorphosis. but after school, when his 4th and 5th grade students leave, he is studying a different kind of change. >> economically disadvantaged. >> a change in the achievement gap. he now points to the 64-page power point he presents to city council. he says it's proof that dc is widening the gap. >> if we're going to use this standard. >> the gold standard is the national assessment of educational placement tests where from 2007 to 2009 dcps had among the largest increase in scores in the country. >> however, when you look at the data, that score is not evenly distributed throughout the population. >> what does he mean? he breaks down the scores by economics and achievement levels. >> the increase in scores was disproportionately larger for small groups. you know, for white students, for hispanic students, for those

that don't qualify for free lunch. >> he also graphed the gap change over the last six years, comparing it to other large cities. >> in 2007 and 2009, we just took a radical departure. >> the truth of the matter is that african-american students which is the majority of students in the district of columbia public schools have been improving at a faster clip than either white or black students nationwide. >> two weeks ago they presented the power point to a dcps official. she told him she would get back with him after the city's comprehensive assessment system test. those are being done this week. derek. well, new at 11:00, a child is in the hospital after at least one car hit that victim. it happened in the 500-block of kennel worth avenue right in dc.

they're not sure if a second car hit the boy. he was chasing a dog. the child suffered some pretty serious injuries. coming up at 11:12, how hard it can be to see children when they're in the vehicle's blind spot. we look at the danger of large vehicles and small children. and a teen swept down the potomac river in anne arundel county has died. you saw the story first at 5:00 today. the 15-year-old victim drowned. units from prince george's and calvert county worked to help find the teenager. tonight a university held a vigil for a student killed. tryal hall shot two men. brandon died from his injuries. hall told police he fired in self-defense when the men lunged

at him. police say other students believe hall had assaulted a woman at a party hours earlier. in life, brian betts was a popular dc principal who was success plea transforming an understood performing school and building -- nund performunder performing school and building. andrea mccarren explains. >> he was my big brother. he was my hero. it's nice to know that other people knew how nice he was. >> reporter: jennifer at more heard of her brother's fate when she answered a knock at her door. they said she needed to contact montgomery county police right away. her brother, brian betts, had been found dead in his silver spring home. >> it's one of those things you think it's a bad dream. let's wake up from this dream. i don't like it. >> reporter: betts was admired

and adored at shaw middle school. but he was also an uncle and godfather to altomare's daughters ages 9 and 11, one of whom asked a painful question. >> she said, mom, did the person that did this, do they know what they took away from me. >> reporter: only after his death did the betts family learn of brian's extraordinary generosity. that he has been putting several of his former students through college. >> we just want everybody to remember brian for who he was. just an amazing man. an amazing, amazing man. >> reporter: the betts family is creating a scholarship fund through the dc public schools to keep that legacy alive. derek. >> wow. amazing. >> isn't it. >> yes. >> and he'll be buried in his home town? >> he will in manassas. i spoke tonight with the director of the funeral home that was handling all of the arrangements. tomorrow the betts family will greet well-wishers there from

6:00 to 9:00 p.m., including bus loads of students from shaw middle school. a thousand mourners are expected. >> thanks. we are learning more about the driver accused in a deadly car accident in dc. police say 34-year-old agene jones was behind the wheel when he slammed into a car at alabama and 36th street southeast last night. a 37-year-old woman and the children riding with her were all critically injured. prosecutors charged jones with involuntary manslaughter. he was on the road despite a long list of charges. all of the charges still awaiting outcomes in court. eleanor holmes norton says she's already working on new strategies to get the city a voting voice in congress. today democrats on capitol hill said the house would not be taking up a measure to give the district a vote on the hill any time soon. this because of republican efforts to tie the measure to

softening the gun control laws. >> why try to ram rod a worst gun bill to conceal and carry weapons. under no circumstances ever would i allow such a bill to go through. >> norton says any future dc voting rights must not have any gun control provision attached. tonight many are mourning the passing of the godmother of the civil rights movement. dr. dorothy height. a single violet decorates the sign at the headquarters of council of negro women. it's the only african-american association on pennsylvania avenue and it belongs to the gals, not the guys. during the civil rights union, she marched with the men on the streets and she was on the platform when martin luther king heightened the nation but she was not allowed to address the nation. >> there were members of all of

the organizations, the churches, the unions. we could not get them to see the difference when all of the heads of those organizations who would be speaking were men. >> dorothy height was 98 years old. she passed away of natural causes zz scientists say the -- scientists say the volcano that erupted in iceland may just be a reaction. it must have another eruption occur. it's part of the same network of magna channels and if it blows it will be ten times larger and shoot even larger plumes of ash in the sky. that can mean even more headaches for airline passengers already stranded all across the world. today flights started to land in london, but it's not enough to recover from the massive flight backlog that started since the volcano erupted. we called out to dulles international airport tonight and we talked to united airlines

that handles most of the flights overseas. anyone who has booked a flight will keep their seat. anyone who has been stranded will now be put on standby. that policy also stands for all of the other airlines. a heart-breaking accident in maryland puts the spotlight on the danger of big vehicles and small children. we put mothers to the test to show them just how easily it could happen. and talk about a thrill ride. look at how some people are going to great heights to get a rush. can you imagine eating this much salt? according to the fda, you already do. up next, a push to cut back on hidden salt in all our diets. topper. >> pretty nice evening, although clouds are on the increase. we'll take you out with the wakeup weather. temperatures pretty reasonable tomorrow at about 8:00. but some areas will have some showers, especially south of town. we'll come back and tell you who we think is going to be wet and dry for the morning commute, who is going to be wet or dry for the evening commute. stay tuned.

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a pregnant 10-year-old girl allegedly raped by her stepfather has become a lightning rod in mexico's heated gait over abortion. the stepfather has been arrested. the child's home state allows for abortion in cases of rape during the first 90 days of pregnancy but the girl is nearly

a month past that limit. advocacy groups are saying they did not inform the child of her abortion rights. the u.s. supreme court has struck down a law aimed at banning videos that show violence against animals. a virginia man was sentenced to three years in prison for videos he made of pit bull fights. they rule the videos are within the bounds of free speech and they threw out the conviction. two virginia residents face felony charges because of cockfighting. investigators executed a search warrant at their home on moyer road and confiscated more than 300 birds. they say the suspects were operating an extensive breeding operation. >> these particular people here were breeders and trainers. there was evidence that some of the roosters had been used for cockfighting. but as far as they can tell, no

actual cockfighting took place at this location. >> authorities put down all 119 roosters they seized at the home. a local farm took the hens and chicks. this was the largest seizure of its kind in virginia history. a tragic accident is a reminder for all of us. it happened saturday. a 33-year-old man was pulling out of a driveway when he struck and killed a 19-month-old toddler. he was driving a large pickup and police tell us he just didn't see the little girl. the consumer group kids and cars says 106 children were killed last year due to the blind spots, a statistic a man named ace scott lives with every day. >> i'll be right back. >> reporter: every time ace scott leaves his house to drive his pickup, he has a routine. >> i always walk around the vehicle before i ever even get in it. and then i check my mirrors and everything, you know. and then i look again out the window. >> reporter: and one more

detail. >> blow the horn. >> reporter: scott has been doing this ever since he accidentally backed over a 2-year-old boy, killing him. >> it's a horrible thing, you know, to live with. >> reporter: the safety group kids and cars say suv and pickup trucks are responsible for a rise in backup death because of the large blind spots. take the test. 3 mothers who drive suvs and vans, a traffic cone is placed five feet behind their vehicles. the cone is the same size as a two and a half-year-old. then when the women backed up. >> stop. >> reporter: every one of them hits the cone. >> oh, my gosh. what was that? >> what if it was a kid standing there. >> that was a little frightening. it's a huge blind spot. >> reporter: the cone was then backed up until the women kol see it. >> 25 feet. >> reporter: if this doesn't drive the test home, ace scott

hopes his tragedy will. >> it's going to be there the rest of my life, you know. it's something that don't go away. >> and here is yet another reminder. it's not just backing up that can be dangerous. vehicles can have blind spots when they're moving forward as well. and that includes your car. so check out just how much distance you need so you can see them, go to our website and check out the extras section. there is no doubt about it, derek. americans love salt. but too much is a killer raising blood pressure and the risk of heart attacks and strokes. according to the fda, americans eat about a teaspoon and a half each day. that amounts to nearly seven pounds of salt a year. as you can imagine, way more than is good for us. but keep in mind most of the salt doesn't come out of a salt shaker. close to 80% of sodium is in a typical diet coming from processed foods like soups, frozen pizza, even bread. now, the institute of medicine is urging the government to step

in and have them gradually cut the salt so we can adjust to the flavor change. >> the levels of sodium in our diet today as the result of the amount of sodium in our foods is not safe. and so we appeal to the fda to take action. >> the american medical association estimates that salt in processed and restaurant foods were cut in half over the next decade, more than 150,000 lives a year could be saved. right now what you can do is read the nutrition labels in the supermarket and avoid foods with a high percentage of recommended sodium intake to cut down on yours. caught on tape in ohio, a large blade spun off a saw and crashed into a home near cleveland. take a look at this. a city worker was out there trying to cut through a street when the blade with a mind of its own came through and rolls right into the house. left a three-foot gash in the side of the home. the security camera is what caught the whole thing on tape. wow. good thing no one was in the

way. and how would you like to fall 350 feet for fun. you can try out the sky jump in sin city. all it costs you is 100 bucks and you can free fall to the landing pad. 850 feet above the vegas strip is where you actually land there. riders are suited up in a custom jumpsuit connected to their patented high speed descender machine and afterwards they get to have some kind of high speed row laid dispen ser. -- rolaiid dispen ser. >> wow. david letterman will be up next and demi moore will be on. we're talking about cold and rain. what is that about? >> we'll say cool. you do need an umbrella. you do need to find that tomorrow. and we're going to bounce back very nicely on thursday and friday. here is your forecast first now.

the next three days, temperatures will be in the low 60s. light rain and showers develop. i think the areas south of town culpeper and fredericksburg, you'll probably have rain and showers before you get the morning commute over with. the rest of us will have to wait until the afternoon. but look how we bounce back. maybe a late shower thursday. near 70 on friday with sunshine. tonight clouds on the increase we stay dry and cool. low temperatures, winds out of the south and southwest about ten. that is a warm wind. tomorrow mostly cloudy with light rain and showers. winds southwest at ten. everybody will see showers by lunch time and everybody in the district will have a dry morning commute. mostly cloudy and cool in the morning. showers everywhere. high temps around 60s. and winds turn easterly at ten. that will keep us cooler tomorrow than we would be

otherwise. satellite picture radar combined, here is the system now. kentucky and tennessee, it's not a big storm. it's not that well organized. but it's going to push out to the north and east and bring us clouds lail later on tonight -- later on tonight. although, again, in terms of amounts, probably half an inch or less across most of the metro area. so not a big system by any means. bigger system comes on the weekend unfortunately. rain and showers in oakland. 54. 57 in cumberland. all six zones are on our website at wusa9.com. hagerstown and martinsburg low 60s. only 60s in manassas and leesburg you will struggle to get to 60s. we'll jump the river. 61 in annapolis and no slow craft advisories. next seven days. 61 tomorrow. rain and showers. we finish strong. upper 60s and low 70s thursday and friday. then we have unsettled weather to speak of. showers and light rain on

saturday. 70s. now, good news for the festival. it's going to be warm, upper 70s. but showers and thunderstorms and low 70s and more showers monday and tuesday. >> okay. >> okay. >> it is getting warmer. >> okay. >> look at the positive. you know, the redskins may need some help but do they need it that badly? >> i don't know. i thought that era of the redskins was over. topper keeps giving me the ax. but donovan is just engaging in a washington tradition. he's lobbying. but is his coach buying what he's selling? mike shanahan responds to the rumors tonight. plus the caps have won two straight but bruce says they stink. only he used a different word. you'll hear it coming up.

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it's time for 9 sports with brett haber, the best sports in town. >> a 36-year-old receiver with a bad attitude. that's the kind of guy the old redskins would have gone after. but not bruce allen and mike shanahan. they're the guys who highjacked don snyder's checkbook and then we hear the name terrell owens.

multiple reports said donovan mcnabb was lobbying to sign the free agent even though they fought like cats and dogs when they were in philly today. they told the whole story is fiction and it ain't happening anyway. >> i appreciate donovan wanting his friend back. but we made a decision as an organization not to go in that direction. but i can understand his relationship with donovan. we will not go in that direction right now. >> here, here, mike shanahan. meantime the redskins schedule out today. how about the opener, sunday night september 12th at home against the cowboys on prime time tv. then the big one week four as mcnabb returns to philly for the first time. the buy week in week eight and then in week nine a money nighter. thanksgiving they host brett favre and the vikings if he comes back. they close at home against the giants. if you're a nationals fan, try to look at tonight as an improvement. yes, they were down 10-0 after

three innings. but that beats sunday when they were down 10-0 after one. hosting the rockets. troy with the solo shot. two innings, six runs. and you know it's going to be one of those nights when the opposing pitcher gets you. bases loaded double. 8-0 nats down. this ought to make you feel a little better. ryan zimmerman second of the year two-run shot but a drop in the bucket. nats fall 10-4. out west the o's facing the mariners. two men on for seattle's milton bradley. and he sends that to left field. josi comes around and scores. they trail 2-1 in the 5th. all right. the down side to the caps winning their division by 18 points is that heading into the playoffs it had been awhile since they played a meaningful game and perhaps that explains their sluggish start in the first half of the series. but, whatever, it's over now. last night's 5-1 victory puts

the caps up two games to one. but there is still one problem. the power play. the caps had the best one in the league during the year but they're 0 for 13 with the advantage in these playoffs leading bruce to say. >> we suck right now. [ laughing ] >> we're still need the power play to be better and i think it will be there next game hopefully. but that was good for a team to get everybody involved. >> finally tonight in monte carlo forget about him for a second. watch the ball girl here who is not quite sure where to look as he changes his shirt right in front of her. she tried looking away but look at the smile. she can't quite keep the smile off of her face. he's one of the sexiest men. she's on the left there. and i think that's very cute. and her smile, that just struck me. as a tennis guy and as a father of children, i thought that was innocent and adorable. >> it's good if you were a

father of children instead of a father of something else. [ laughing ] >> what? >> not a father of girls. [ crowd cheering ] male announcer ] competition... it pushes us to work harder. to be better. to win. but sometimes even rivals realize

they share a common goal. america's beverage companies have removed full-calorie soft drinks from schools, reducing beverage calories by 88%. together with schools, we're helping kids make more balanced choices every day. ♪

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answering them. siemens. answers. that's 9news for tonight. don't forget we're always on at wusa9.com. >> letterman is next. have a good one. >> i'm a father of children. we're the watchful ones. we like to know where things stand. we keep a close eye on what we have and what we spend. suntrust would like to applaud our solid financial ways. now when you pay your bills online you'll not only gain more control of your money,

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